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SALT LAKE CITY, June 6, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MYGN) announced today that a presentation entitled "Prognostic value of a 46-gene cell cycle progression (CCP) RNA signature for prostate cancer death in a conservatively managed watchful waiting needle biopsy cohort," was presented on Saturday, June 4, 2011 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology® (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago. The study demonstrates that the Company's 46-gene CCP molecular diagnostic test, PROLARIS, is the strongest predictor of cancer death for prostate cancer patients managed through watchful waiting.

"These findings are of great potential clinical significance," stated Jerry Lanchbury Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Myriad Genetics, Inc. "We believe that this latest study provides very strong evidence that the PROLARIS test has an important role to play in defining the aggressiveness of a given prostate cancer, at the point of biopsy, and therefore provides essential guidance to physicians and their patients on the appropriate course of treatment."

Researchers analyzed the PROLARIS CCP scores for 352 men whose clinically localized prostate cancer was diagnosed by needle biopsy. They compared the predictive nature of the PROLARIS CCP score in biopsies to accepted clinical variables including Gleason score, baseline PSA, age, clinical stage and the extent of the disease. The study determined that the PROLARIS CCP score was the strongest predictor of cancer death outcome (p = 1.4 X 10-10) and more significant than either Gleason score or PSA.

Myriad believes the market need for the PROLARIS product stems from the limited ability of current markers to accurately predict prostate cancer aggressiveness at time of biopsy. Many men diagnosed with prostate cancer have indolent disease that can be safely monitored with active surveillance, whereas some patients have aggressive cancer and need immediate treatment. The challenge facing all men diagnosed with prostate cancer is to decide whether to have aggressive therapy such as radiation or radical prostatectomy which has potentially significant complications such as, incontinence and impotence or to monitor the disease through active surveillance. Overtreatment of prostate cancer and its attendant complications is widely recognized as an important public health issue and places an unnecessary financial burden on the health care system. The PROLARIS product was developed to meet this significant need to improve the physician's ability to predict disease outcome and to thereby optimize treatment.

About PROLARIS®

The PROLARIS test consists of a proprietary panel of 46 genes, the majority of which are involved in cell cycle progression and cell growth. PROLARIS testing examines standard prostate tumor tissue available to pathologists to quantitatively assess whether a patient is likely to have a slow growing form of prostate cancer or a more aggressive cancer. The PROLARIS test provides clinicians with a direct molecular measure of a prostate tumor's capacity to divide and grow by examining genes that mediate tumor growth at the molecular level that can be used to determine the aggressiveness of prostate cancer. PROLARIS testing can also be used to estimate the risk of prostate cancer recurrence in patients who have already undergone a radical prostatectomy or transurethral resection of the prostate.

In the United States alone, 223,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2007 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These men may benefit from the information provided by PROLARIS risk recurrence assessment. Men diagnosed with prostate cancer have four treatment options; active surveillance, radical prostatectomy, radiation therapy or hormone therapy. A study published in the January/February 2010 edition of Cancer World showed that early aggressive treatment in patients whose cancer is likely to progress slowly, may cause side-effects such as incontinence and erectile dysfunction. The study concluded that this aggressive treatment unnecessarily reduces the quality of patient's lives.

About Myriad Genetics

Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MYGN) is a leading molecular diagnostic company dedicated to developing and marketing novel predictive, personalized and prognostic medicine products to assess a person's risk of developing disease and guide treatment decisions. Myriad's portfolio of nine molecular diagnostic products are based on an understanding of the role genes play in human disease and were developed with a focus on improving an individual's decision making process for monitoring and treating disease. With fiscal year 2010 annual revenue of over $360 million and approximately 1,000 employees, Myriad is working on strategic initiatives, including new product introductions, companion diagnostics, and international expansion, to take advantage of significant growth opportunities. For more information on how Myriad is making a difference, please visit the Company's website: www.myriad.com.

Myriad, the Myriad logo, BRACAnalysis, Colaris, Colaris AP, Melaris, TheraGuide, Prezeon, OnDose, Panexia and PROLARIS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Myriad Genetics, Inc. in the United States and foreign countries. MYGN-G

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to the strength and potential significance of the PROLARIS® test as a predictor of cancer death for prostate cancer patients managed through watchful waiting; the Company's belief that this latest study provides very strong evidence that the PROLARIS test has an important role to play in defining the aggressiveness of a given prostate cancer, at the point of biopsy, and therefore provides essential guidance to physicians and their patients on the appropriate course of treatment; the Company's belief that the market need for the PROLARIS product stems from the limited ability of current markers to accurately predict prostate cancer aggressiveness at time of biopsy; and the development of the PROLARIS product to meet the significant need to improve the physician's ability to predict disease outcome and to thereby optimize treatment. These "forward-looking statements" are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the risk that sales and profit margins of our existing molecular diagnostic products may decline or will not continue to increase at historical rates; the risk that we may be unable to expand into new markets outside of the United States; the risk that we may be unable to develop or achieve commercial success for additional molecular diagnostic products in a timely manner, or at all; the risk that licenses to the technology underlying our molecular diagnostic products and any future products are terminated or cannot be maintained on satisfactory terms; risks related to delays or other problems with manufacturing our products or operating our laboratory testing facilities; risks related to public concern over genetic testing in general or our products in particular; risks related to regulatory requirements or enforcement in the United States and foreign countries and changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems; risks related to our ability to obtain new corporate collaborations and acquire new technologies or businesses on satisfactory terms, if at all, and risks related to our ability to successfully integrate and derive benefits from any technologies or businesses that we acquire; the development of competing products and services; the risk that we or our licensors may be unable to protect the proprietary technologies underlying our products; the risk of patent-infringement and invalidity claims or challenges of our patents; risks of new, changing and competitive technologies and regulations in the United States and internationally; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in Item 1A in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2010, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as any updates to those risk factors filed from time to time in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Myriad undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.